Monday, April 17, 2006

Deva Vu?

A suicide bombing kills seven and wounds dozens in Tel Aviv. The party in power of the PA disclaims responsiblity, while arguing for its legitimacy. The head of the PA denounces the attack which "harms Palestinian interests." An Israeli prime minister claims Israel knows how to respond and will.

Haven't we seen this before, over and over again? When Hamas was in the opposition, Fatah used to condemn the attacks, but claim no responsibility because the attack would then be an act of war by the leader of the Palestinian people. Now that Hamas is in charge, Islamic Jihad and Fatah have decided to take over.

So that's how the game is played. The three terrorist organizations just switch off leadership and terrorist roles. If Fatah is in charge, Hamas and Islamic Jihad carry out the attacks. If Hamas is in charge, Fatah and Hamas launch the suicide bombings. So I guess if Islamic Jihad wins the next elections, we'd expect the them to deny responsibility for Hamas and Fatah terrorism.

Is anyone going to be surprised when the inevitable "call for calm" from the EU comes after Israel retaliates?